President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio on Thursday said he will not sanction Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan for her unruly behavior during Senate plenary on Thursday.
A Senate plenary session on Thursday was disrupted by a dramatic outburst from Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (Kogi Central), who publicly confronted Senate President Godswill Akpabio over a change in her assigned seating.
Despite calls from some senators for disciplinary action, Akpabio declined to escalate the situation.
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Akpoti-Uduaghan, visibly upset, accused Akpabio of disrespect, referencing a past incident where he had told her, “Senator Natasha, we are not in the nightclub.”
She argued that the change in her seat, placing her at the rear of the chamber, was done without her consent and was a continuation of this perceived disrespect. “Since the nightclub incident, you have been disrespecting me,” she shouted, adding, “How can you change my seat without my consent. I am not afraid of you.”
The outburst caused a stir in the chamber, with some senators attempting to calm Akpoti-Uduaghan while others called for sanctions. Senator Sunday Karimi (Kogi West) urged Akpabio to initiate disciplinary proceedings against her, but Akpabio refused. Senator Jibrin Isah (Kogi East) also called for an apology from Akpoti-Uduaghan, and when it became clear that Akpabio would not pursue the matter, apologized on her behalf and on behalf of the Kogi caucus.
Akpabio, who tried to maintain his equanimity through Natasha’s rage, urged his colleagues to let the matter rest so that senators can concentrate on the job they were elected to do.
Natasha’s outburst could be traced to how she was addressed during plenary sometime in 2024, when Akpabio, who was presiding, asked her to comport herself, reminding her that the Senate chamber wasn’t a nightclub.
Although Akpabio had since apologised to the female senator, recalling the incident in Thursday’s encounter showed that she might have given vent to unresolved pent-up emotions.
When the heat subsided, Akpabio explained that it was the recent defection of Senator Ned Nwoko from PDP to APC that caused the minor change in seating arrangement.
